Highlighting local pathways to decarbonisation
The EU-funded LOCALISED project is developing tools and services to show local authorities, businesses and citizens the best pathways to decarbonisation. One such tool is the Climate Action Strategiser, a state-of-the-art planning tool for European cities and regions to reduce emissions and adapt to the impact of climate change. Developed by LOCALISED project partner Climate Media Factory (CMF), Germany, the Climate Action Strategiser focuses on how to better integrate climate mitigation and adaptation measures, and how to foster collaboration in small and medium-sized local administrations. It is based on national decarbonisation trajectories reduced to local levels and can help cities and regions set up sustainable energy and climate action plans and monitor related Sustainable Development Goals. The tool also evaluates chosen mitigation and adaptation measures in terms of their social impact and equity. “We cannot ignore the impacts of climate change in Europe. We need to act,” stresses PhD researcher Gerard Martínez Görbig of LOCALISED project partner University of Twente, the Netherlands, in a news item posted on the university’s independent journalistic medium ‘U-Today’. Görbig, who is contributing to the development of the Climate Action Strategiser, adds: “Climate change isn’t ending anytime soon, it’s more likely to intensify, and so we need to prepare for it – not only physically, but also by addressing the associated social issues. We need to reach climate justice in Europe as fast as possible.” The tool’s development will help bring the region one step closer to this goal.
Steps in Climate Action Strategiser development
The first in a series of workshops on the Climate Action Strategiser’s basic structure and features was held in late 2023, the results of which were taken into account in the tool’s development. The minimum viable product is currently being prepared. LOCALISED is now offering anyone interested in the tool the opportunity to test it and provide feedback in the upcoming European Urban Resilience Forum (EURESFO), which the project will be co-organising this year. As reported on the project website, EURESFO will be held in Valencia, Spain, from 26 to 28 June 2024 and “will bring together high-level representatives of cities and regions from across Europe to discuss challenges and opportunities to strengthen resilience in the context of sustainable urban development.” On the second day of the forum, the CMF will hold a highly-interactive workshop session to explore how to enhance the integration of mitigation and adaptation measures and ensure a collaborative environment in local administrations. Titled ‘What kind of tools and practices do city and regional administrations need to make urban resilience a reality?’, the workshop will offer forum participants and invited city representatives the opportunity to share experiences and test the LOCALISED Climate Action Strategiser. LOCALISED (Localised decarbonisation pathways for citizens, local administrations and businesses to inform for mitigation and adaptation action) brings together nine research institutions and three city councils. The project ends in September 2025. For more information, please see: LOCALISED project website
Keywords
LOCALISED, climate, climate change, mitigation, adaptation, Climate Action Strategiser, decarbonisation, urban resilience